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LHIA President’s Message

Happy New Year Lauderdale Harbors!

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HOMELESSNESS
I have to compliment the coalition of social agencies, businesses and City Government
that came together to find housing for those unfortunate individuals who were living in
tents on the grounds of the Main Library. Many of these homeless were identified as
hard-working people with jobs that could simply not afford the upfront costs of two
Barbara Magill months’ rent and security deposits. This was a Herculean effort and our community
President, LHIA thanks those involved.

Team LHIA Officers AIDS FOUNDATION 680 MICRO APARTMENT
Vice-President
Ed Rebholz The Aids Health Foundation has proposed a 15-story building of 680 micro units for
low cost/homeless housing adjacent their building encompassing a campus at SE 7 &
Secretary 8th streets that would go from Federal Highway to SE 3rd Ave.
Chelsea Krebs
Treasurer Many neighborhoods in the City are VERY concerned with this project. The biggest
Bonnie Rogers concern is what the project actually is? The design application listed the building as a
place to house the homeless. The attorney for the Aids Foundation insisted the building
Welcome Committee
Chairman was affordable housing units geared toward restaurant servers, kindergarten teachers,
Linda Brand hotel housekeepers etc.
The majority of the project is for 600 single people that want to live tiny in a 16 x16
apartment. 80 units are slightly larger for two occupants. According to the attorney,
Debbie Orchefsky, to qualify for rent in the building, you need an income between
$16,000- $28,000 per year. The attorney could not say how long one had to be
employed but that unemployed homeless would not qualify. Which again is different
from the application with the City.
The application also says that the development is supported by social service agencies
like the United Way. Which seems unlikely since at a workshop on homelessness they
were very clear that housing several homeless people in one location is highly
problematic and has been unsuccessful.
Another major concern was the lack of parking, which is non-existent to the housing
development. The concept pitched was a shared 250 spaces with the Aids Health
Foundation. The spaces used by the Foundation during the day, but the 680 residents
can use the 250 spaces at night. Pretty scary thought in a block with little street parking.
The list of concerns are numerous, particularly that this type of affordable housing model
has failed in other cities. No feasibility studies have been done on the surrounding
infrastructure. Nationwide, successful micro unit apartments are being built for the young
urban professional that prefers living small to be in the active hub of major downtown
areas with public transportation like Seattle, NY and DC. These units are often added in
regular size apartment buildings or are under 60 micro units in a single building.
The board of Lauderdale Harbors joins the board of Rio Vista in rejecting the project’s
current application and asks that the City Commission deny the applicant unless they can
build under 100 micro units in a more manageable, neighborhood-compatible setting.
The model where new development has to create a percentage of affordable housing
within its building has been the best answer to growing cities’ housing problems.
Scooters – The scooters look like a lot of fun and plenty of people are moving around the
City riding them, but doing so is getting more dangerous. I wonder what the City’s

26 rio vista civic association • www.riovistaonline.com